Ilili restaurant is located at 236 5th Avenue and is definitely a must have whenever you're in the city. Their cuisine is Mediterranean. I loved the fact that for restaurant week they gave each of us two appetizers! We had a feast and a half. We picked the Mouhamara a walnut puree delicious and different, Moujadara a green lentil puree. The BEST string beans ever but so simply cooked with lemon juice, garlic, salt, olive oil and dried mint. The Phoenician fries are the best fries you'll ever have in your life they come with a garlic whip that is non-dairy and seasoned with Aleppo pepper. The Aleppo pepper aka Halaby pepper is used in middle eastern & Mediterranean cuisine. It has a moderate heat level with some fruitiness and mild cumin undertones it's similar to the Ancho Chile. I have yet to find it locally but my next trip into the city I will be on a mission until I find it because it had such great flavor. I had the braised lamb shank sandwich with roasted peppers it was so delicious that even when I brought it home and my boyfriend ate it cold out of the fridge he was amazed. Lol. Dawne had the chicken wrap with garlic whip an they even put one Phoenician fry going down the middle to make it perfect!
Our desserts were amazing! I had the Ilili candy bar which had chocolate crunch, chocolate ganache, pistachio & fig caramel & finished with a warm chocolate sauce. Tell me that's not one of the greatest desserts ever. My girlfriend had the Awaimat. That translates to a Lebanese beignet with orange blossom simple syrup. I also had Arak which is a liquor. It is mixed 1/3 Arak with 2/3 water because it is so strong. It aids in digestion and has a licorice & anise flavor. It's something to be sipped slowly and you have to have a strong love for licorice because that's exactly and only what it tastes like.
I want to urge you not to wait until next year for the next restaurant week try it ASAP!
www.ililinyc.com
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